Curious about meals....

Avatar for ive_got_five
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2001
Curious about meals....
11
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 4:06pm
What are mealtimes like in your house?

My dh doesn't have a clue when it comes to eating healthy stuff! It drives me crazy! He's grown up on white rice and I think his body actually craves it! There is no way he will ever eat brown rice instead. Part of it's a cultural thing, part just a plain old excuse! So I end up making both! He'll eat wholewheat bread, only because I don't buy white, but if dd buys it, he snorks it down. If we go to a restaurant it's "white" all the way.....bread, rice, you name it! FIL has diabetes and I can see dh heading in the same direction. Of course he's pretty smug because his cholesterol was lower than mine when he last had it tested....3 years ago. But I have a funny feeling it's going to come and bite him in the butt in the very near future. He's now packing about 15-20 lbs. more and will soon be moving up another size in pants. I guess it's not just we females that have this problem.

Adam, bless his heart is off to a great start. Loves his veggies, and I mean everything, broccoli, carrots, cilantro, spinach, bok choy, eggplant, olives. You name it. He looks like his dad, but thank god he doesn't have his eating habits. He much prefers, veggies to meat.

Max, is the original carbo addict. While he will eat broccoli once in awhile. It is almost impossible to get him to eat any other veggies. He lives on rice (white), potatoes, bread, cereal and whatver meat. Doesn't like fish except for salmon. He doesn't like fruit much either. Except fruit leather. I thought I'd slide in some of those fruit/veggy bars. Nothing doing! The kid took one bite and knew!!! ACK!

And then, there is my dd with Crohn's. Her diet consists of everything that I'm trying not to eat. White bread, white rice, potatoes, etc. I just can't seem to win!

Does everyone else's family just go along with what you make/buy? Or, do you too have issues!

Just curious,

Shar

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-08-2001
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 4:36pm
Everyone in our house either eats what I prepare or prepares for themselves. DH hasn't gotten used to my cooking more with vegetables and although he still loves his beef doesn't really mind not having it. My son loves fish, both girls hate it although my younger daughter works from 11:00 to 7:30 so is generally not home at dinner time. She also has always been a very picky eater. My son loves beef and hates chicken but loves fish, more vegetables that his sisters and beans. My oldest loves pasta as well as my husband. So I try to mix everything up during the week so that everyone has something they like during the week. And I usually make at least one beef meal for my son on Saturday. My son actually is trying to eat better these days and is drinking more water and less soda after he had a blood test recently and his triglycerides were terrible and his cholesterol was none too good for someone only 18. He's tall and very skinny but that doesn't necessarily make for good health! My DH is also a big bread eater-loves bread with everything. But he still weighs between 155 and 160 at 5'11" and he still considers Twinkies a breakfast dessert! So yes, planning meals can be a challenge but everyone is satisfied for the most part and when they aren't they find something that satisfies them!

Susan

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 6:49pm

With just the 2 of us, it's pretty easy.

Live With Passion!

Phyllis

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-15-2003
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 7:33pm

My first hubby didn't eat red meat or pork or fish.

“You can only grow if you’re willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” -Brian Tracy
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 9:11pm

In a word, CHAOS! I know it's terrible that we don't sit down at a table that's nicely set and share our day together, but most of the time we're going in separate directions or Tim is late. When I do cook, Rob usually eats in the living room, sometimes I'm at the computer or at the breakfast table, and Tim usually eats in the bedroom. Sometimes he and I both eat in the bedroom.


Rob used to have great eating habits, but he's turning into a carb addict. Tim has the worst eating habits I've ever seen except when he was on the South Beach diet. I've told him he should just inject Crisco into his arteries and be done with it. I, of course, have the sugar monkey on my back. We're definitely not a model family for dinner time.

Rhonda


Time invested in improving ourselves cuts down on time disapproving of others.

       ~~Rhonda~~


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 9:56pm
Ditto, Rhonda!! I eat at the computer in between jobs (& sugar is the monkey on my back too!) & ds might as well inject Crisco in his veins, too, as he loves fried fish & chicken strips. I hate fried foods, but I always liked burgers (now I eat Bocas). The kid hates beef, I think, as he never asks for it! I love barbecue & Italian foods & ds hates both. One thing we both love is green veggies. He takes the teen vitamin/mineral, too. We both have very different tastes in foods.
Katherine (Kat)
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 10:10pm
Yep, there's issues in this house. DS could live on fried catfish, fried chicken strips, a few green veggies, O.J., fruit snacks (is that the leather you post?), popcorn, ice cream, a little candy, and plenty of gatorade. He is THE pickiest eater!!! I hate fried foods and refuse to cook them. Danny loves white rice, too. I like all kinds of rice, so I would just as soon have the healthier stuff. Carbs are a problem in this house for me in the way of cereals & breads. I try to buy the sprouted wheat kind for my sandwiches. I love bready stuff and have a hard time resisting any kind of bread, so I can relate to your dh, Shar! I also love pasta, so I have the carb disease pretty bad! I bought some brown rice & have some other things like couscous that I try to cook instead of the white rice. I like making whole wheat pancakes, too, and they are light because I put some oats in them. That's good that your Adam loves all of those veggies!

I would love to be able to cook a good meal now & then, with ds actually eating it. Shar, your recipes and menus always sound so good! I like ethnic recipes, especially Mediterranean and Mid/Far Eastern. I guess I should just take the time and cook the foods I like & hope ds will learn to like them!

Katherine (Kat)
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Registered: 01-06-2000
Thu, 03-25-2004 - 8:21am
No real issues here. Allison will try things, and likes veggies, except for beans. The Cus will happily try new recipes, though won't go near curry (fine with me).

However, I'm not exactly on the extreme "healthy" side of things, either. I'll make brown rice, but I'll also make white rice. Never have cooked with tofu. I have no plans on cutting out potatoes, despite the big sugar/carb flap over them, because they essentially come out of the ground to the grocery store. I have several pasta dishes that I like, too, and I don't use whole wheat pasta. On the other side, we rarely eat high fat meats, preferring chicken, fish and pork, with the occasional ham. I seldom serve veggie casseroles because they have way too many extra ingredients. Hamburger Helper is a splurge, and I'll buy lean with that. Whenever we do hot dogs or I need smoked sausage, 99% of the time I go for the turkey based stuff. I try to do a blend of easy-to-shop for, a few more expensive choices, and balance with not using many additives to meals. Totally healthy? No. Balanced for our needs and tastes? I think so.










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Avatar for imthebigsister
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 03-25-2004 - 8:28am
Shar, you've sure got you hands full with so many people at your dinner table and such varied food habits and preferences. I can't imagine having to think about mealtime as hard as you do. My maternal grandmother had 6 kids, plus whichever little neighborhood waif my grandfather took pity on and brought home for a good meal; my grandfather, the 6 kids, and the occasional visitor ate what my grandmother prepared - and if they didn't like it, well, tough. She was running a household, not a restaurant. My grandfather was an insulin-dependent diabetic, but managed it carefully. Most of us grandkids were brought up to eat what was prepared. How many times did my sister eat Rice Krispies for dinner because she was picky and my mother refused to keep the kitchen open until Her Nibs decided what she would eat that evening?!

The main issue for DH and me now is that dinnertime is so darned late (rarely before 8:15), with us getting home 6:30 or later and me working out as soon as I hit the front door. DH is really flexible about what I cook and is always complimentary. He's still occasionally surprised by the amount of garlic I use, but understands it's a tradition I will never give up - plus it's good for you. He's only adamant about not eating a few things, so I don't push them (I figure if he pretends to like SBD faux-tatoes, I really have nothing to harp on). His mom used to cook a wide variety of foods when he was little, so he learned to eat most things and to at least try what she put so much work into.

What scares me is what he eats when I'm not around or I haven't cooked. I've found enough Mc'Ds wrappers, snack cake remains, and Doritos bags in the car to know he indulges his junk-food tooth. Despite that, his recent blood work from the dr came back excellent. He needs three meds to control his BP, but is ok with that. He's dropped about 15 lbs under the SBD influence and works out without complaint, and he's not crazed by the scale or whether his clothes are fitting tight. Family medical history is excellent, also, so there are no obvious signs of diet-related trouble. I'm going to have him with me for a very long time - knock on wood.

Donna



Avatar for ive_got_five
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2001
Thu, 03-25-2004 - 12:29pm
Thanks for your feedback everyone. Nice to know I'm not the only one dealing with everyone's dietary differences!
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-03-2001
Thu, 03-25-2004 - 2:34pm
Do I have issues??Is this only in regard to what my family eats?????:)

I make it and they eat it. I try very hard to make healthy meals.Dh and DS both eat way too much junk food away from home.And portion control is not a term they are familar with it.It's a battle around here convincing them to eat better.One I'm constantly losing.

Miss P




 

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